Member Monday Featuring Colleen Malley
Welcome back to another amazing Monday here at KelbyOne! Colleen Malley is a Burlington, Connecticut-based photographer, who wants to share the excitement and passion behind her photography.
We absolutely love so many things about this image—the color and focus on the details just jump out and grab our attention!
Let’s talk to Colleen!
About the Photographer:
- Hometown: Burlington, CT
- Years in Photography: 12 to 15 years
- Years as a KO Member: Five as a Pro member
About the Photo:
- Title: Ordinary to Extraordinary
- Location: On a country road in Burlington, Connecticut.
- Any additional description of the photograph: My favorite way to photograph flowers is to search for them on the roadsides of rural Connecticut. I never realized how beautiful and detailed clover really is until I got up very close to this one. The color of the flower is what caught my eye first.
- Gear/Software Used: I took this image with my Canon 5D Mark III and my 100mm macro lens. Post-processing of the image was first done in Lightroom making minor tonal adjustments and then in Photoshop to clone out a few distractions. The last adjustment I made was in Color Efex Pro 4 using Darken/Lighten Center.
Describe your creative style in 3 words.
Soft, ethereal and intimate.
Tell us about a time you struggled or failed with your photography, and how you overcame it?
I have struggled and failed multiple times as any artist does and should. I do think the most difficult times I’ve had were when I tried to learn how to do selective focusing when I wanted only a small part of a flower in focus and the rest of the image blurred. I overcame the struggle (although honestly sometimes I still have some amount of difficulty) by practice, practice, and more practice.
What sparked your love of photography?
My dad was always taking either pics or movies of myself and my three brothers back in the Super 8mm days. Also, my grandmother gave me an old Brownie camera when I was eight years old, which thrilled me and got me hooked. I really only seriously started taking pics when I was in my 50’s after our kids were grown. Digital SLRs were so much easier to use and to learn the craft with due to being able to see whether the f/stop and/or shutter speed you chose was the right one for your vision.
What’s your favorite class on KelbyOne and why?
Well, this is the toughest question of all because there are so many it is impossible to choose just one, so instead I will name some of my favorite instructors. Of course, Scott Kelby’s and Matt Kloskowski’s courses on how to use Lightroom were so helpful to me in teaching me how to use the Library and Develop modules. As of recently, I have really enjoyed Jackie Kramer’s course on Artistic Macro Floral Photography Techniques. She is so inspirational and offers very practical info that is easily understood.
To see more of Colleen’s work, you can connect with her via her website, or she can also be found on Instagram.
Thank you for joining us for another Member Monday! If you haven’t yet, be sure to submit your photos for a chance to receive a Member Monday feature of your own.
